


Fall Into Me ((aka A Deal Gone Awry))

by SkyBeumont



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action & Romance, Avengers - Freeform, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-06 19:02:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyBeumont/pseuds/SkyBeumont
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alaina Reynolds life as an administrative assistant is far from exciting. That is until her boss gets in over his head with the wrong group and Tony Stark asks his buddy Clint Barton to watch over her. And things only become more complicated when the guy she dumped, the one and only Steve Rogers, shows up to watch over her as well. Can Clint and Steve keep her safe from the men who want her for what she knows, and can Alaina choose between the two?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction, and solely for enjoyment. No copyright infringement intended.  
> This work is not for sale and is not for profit.  
> Alaina Reynolds and various others are my own creation and all Marvel characters belong to them :)
> 
> Update 5/11/15  
> *** Yeah, I took a little hiatus from this story but there will be an update soon, possibly the next few days**

**CHAPTER ONE**

I gazed warily at the man sitting in the front seat of the van. He’d said very little since he’d pulled me from my office, telling me that I was needed downstairs. He was familiar looking and I thought I'd seen him in the office before so I went. At the time he was wearing a security badge and a black suit. He looked official enough to me. The office building I worked in was 48 floors and I didn’t know everyone that worked there. How could I have known that he wasn’t security? Now I was sitting behind him in a van heading to God only knew where.

Maybe when we reached the lobby of the building I should have known something wasn't quite right, but he looked official and very pissed. Who was I to question him? It wasn’t until we were outside and he grabbed my arm, ushering me quickly toward a waiting white van that I knew that things were way wrong. I instantly began to question him, trying to free my arm.

“Get in the van Ms. Reynolds, we don't want to make a scene.” he smiled over at me as he opened the door, motioning me in to the small bench seat along the wall of the van.

I found myself watching him, watching his movements as he looked to the woman who drove the van, then back to me. He jerked his tie loose and then his top button as herslammed my door closed, then jumped into the front seat.

“What is going on? Who are you and where are we going?”

“Can you stop asking questions?” 

He kept checking every direction as as the van lurched forward, like he was watching out for someone or something.

The one thing that had thrown me off about it all was the fact that they weren’t trying to tie me up, or anything. Aren’t kidnappers supposed to tie you up? I was told to sit down and hang on.

The van lurched from the curb and then a corner fast enough that I had to grab the seatbelt next to me to keep from falling. In the process I managed to hit my head on the side of the van. The tires squealed and I knew we were going much faster than I previously thought.

The man turned to look at me once more and I noticed just how green his eyes were. He faced forward again without saying anything and I was left wondering what the hell was going on.

We took another fast turn and I nearly fell from where I sat. It was only by grabbing onto the back of the seat in front of me that I was able to stay upright. I started to ask another question but at almost the same time, it sounded like an explosion went off behind us.

“Tasha, you have to get us off this road.” His voice was so calm, like this was an every day occurrence with them. He moved out of his seat and into the back with me. He reached down beside me and grabbed a bag, pulling a gun from it as he crawled back into the front seat. Seeing the gun sent me into full panic mode.

“What’s happening?”

“Reynolds I need you to stay down and shut up!” 

The look on his face was serious and concerned. I wasn’t about to argue with him. I dropped to the floor of the van at about the same time bullets began to hit the back doors and the side. Paint chips flew and hit the floor around me and into my hair.

“Take the alley down 53rd.”

“I know that Clint!” she said back to him, her voice not quite as calm as it had been before. More gunfire erupted and I could tell it was him, my captor, firing back.

I was on the verge of having a panic attack. Gunfire, creepy vans, and speeding through city streets at who knew how fast were not on my usual daily agenda. I was a paper pusher, an assistant to a big wig who made way too much money for making other people do his work.

Another explosion rocked the van and I felt it tip to the side. A compartment door above me flew open. I covered my head at about the same time things rolled out, landing on me.

“Damnit Tasha watch the corners!”

“Do you want to drive?”

“Are you trying to get us killed?” I screamed.

“Shut up!” came both voices from the front seat.

Another round of bullets sprayed the van. I covered my head and prayed.

I hoped where ever they were taking me, I made it in one piece.

****

When the van finally came to a stop, I was almost afraid to get off of the floor. Just because we stopped didn’t mean it was safe, and I had no idea where they’d taken me or who they were.

I heard each of them slam their doors. A few seconds later the side door slid open and there he stood, staring at me. He had this smirk on his face, seeing me still sprawled on the floor. He grinned then and I couldn’t help but notice that it reached his eyes. I’m glad he found it amusing because I sure as hell didn’t but then again he was nice to look at, very nice, with chestnut brown hair, intense green eyes, and a strong jaw. I could learn to like looking at him.

“I think it’s safe to get off the floor now.”

We were inside a building of some sort, a parking garage it looked like; lots of concrete and fluorescent lighting.

“Gee thanks.” I retorted.

I managed to get off the floor and he offered me his hand to get out. His fingers wrapped around mine and there was a strength there that shocked me. I don’t know why because his arms stretched the dress shirt tight. There was little doubt he was nicely built under those clothes. He was not good for my hormones at all.

I stepped down to the pavement, looking around and then back at him.

“Can I ask questions now that we’re not speeding through the city?”

“No.” Grinning, he placed his hand at the small of my back and gestured toward a set of doors with his other hand.

The door opened and the woman stood beside it, a smile on her face as well. She was beautiful when I had the chance to really see her. Deep red hair hung down past her shoulders. Her eyes were a blue-ish green and there was something there that seemed hard. I didn’t try and concentrate on it too much as we walked.

It wasn’t until we were through the doors and into the elevator that it dawned on me that his hand was still at my lower back. There was a strange comfort in that, weird as it was.

“I’d really like to know what’s going on.” I kept my voice soft as I looked over at the woman.

“I think it’s safe since I’m not trying to save our lives and we’re in the elevator.” She smiled.

“Thanks, for that, for not getting us killed I mean. So who are you? Where are we and why am I here?” I asked, turning now to look at him.

“This is Agent Romanov, I’m Agent Barton and you’re here because Stark sent for you.”

“Tony? He couldn’t just pick up a phone? My God he has my cell phone, Facebook… he even has my Twitter for fucks sake!”

Barton lifted his hand to his mouth to hide his smile, Romanov didn’t even try to hide hers.

“Well there was a bit of urgency in reaching you, if the gunfire didn’t clue you in.” her voice was soft and her smile made me smile back. There was something about her that I liked, I just couldn't understand why. She was right about keeping us safe. There had been gunfire and a high speed getaway, but we were all in one piece, so far.

“Okay, now I’m concerned. Did Tony know that was coming?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s why he sent us and didn’t tweet you ma’am.” That came from Agent Barton.

“Ma’am is my mother. I’m Alaina, or Reynolds if you prefer, but don’t call me ma’am.”

“Fair enough.” He smirked when he said it and looked over at Natasha who smiled back at him. I felt like there was some inside joke I wasn't privy to.

The elevator came to a stop and we stepped out into a large hallway with marble floors and deep forest green walls. The sounds of our footsteps echoed as we walked.

A large door to the right of us flew open and Tony stepped out.

“Well you made it out in one piece. Good deal, come in and let’s have a little share time shall we?”

“That would be amazing. Wanna tell me why two agents just came and kidnapped me from work?”

“We didn’t kidnap you. I asked you to come with me and you came.” Barton said with a smile. I turned to look at him, hoping the glare I gave him made my point. He winked at me and smiled, warming me down to my toes. The man made parts of me do flip flops that just shouldn’t flip or flop. _Oh what I wouldn’t give for an hour alone with him in a nice hotel room somewhere._

“Laina, stop oogling Barton and come here. We have to talk.” Tony said rolling his eyes.

‘I was not—“

“Oogling? Yes. Yes you were. Now get over here.”

Tony Stark was impossible at times, but he was a good friend. If he’d gone through this kind of trouble to watch over me, then I must be in some very deep trouble.

Pepper Potts, Tony’s girlfriend and handler, walked in then and smiled.

“Laina! We were so worried.” she walked over to me and hugged me. I liked Pepper a lot. She was the entire reason I knew Tony. We’d met when Tony and my boss Roger Harkiss had a business meeting. The two of us spent the day in another office while they schmoozed and we waited. We exchanged e-mails, met for lunches, and got to be pretty good friends. It wasn’t until after the entire New York incident t that I’d officially met Tony. He’s crazy. I don’t mean in that insane way (although sometimes I think he is) but in that he’ll try anything once just to see if he can or if he likes it. He’s funny, sarcastic as hell, but charming to a fault, at least to me. He has a good heart, no matter what people might say or think of him. The man he is, beneath the swagger and bravado, that’s the guy I know. He knows people, he cares for those close to him, and he takes care of them.

“Pep, I was just about to fill her in on the details.”

She nodded. “Right. Let Tony fill you in, we’ll catch up later.”

She walked over and began to talk to Romanov while I turned to look at Tony.

“Okay, so fill me in.”

We walked over a sitting area near a window. I could see we were away from the city, but not too far as the lights of New York were easily visible.

We both sat down on the couch and he started to speak.

“It seems Roger has gotten himself in a bit over his head in some of his business dealings. And I mean way deep. He undercut some pretty nasty folks, but it's what they found that's causing all the ruckus. It was the Halestone deal. Remember any of that?”

I nodded, “Of course. It's been the only thing we've worked on for awhile.”

“The people that wanted that land, they’re not nice and not on the right side of the law. Now that the cat is out of the bag about what's down there, there are people that will do anything to get the information you know.” He looked very serious and that it made me nervous.

“Such as?”

“There’s a reason you’re here Alaina.” He used my full name, that meant this was bad.

“Are Romanov and Barton from SHIELD?” I asked quietly. Pepper had told me about it, she wasn’t supposed to but we were good friends and the entire Avengers incident had been all over television for awhile. It wasn’t like Tony could hide much about his life.

“They are. They’re going to stay here with you. Consider yourself in witness protection.”

“Shit,” My heart began to beat a bit faster as I looked up at him. “Did you tell Steve about this?” I asked

He leaned back. “It’s not so bad. You got an amazing view, great food, I'm footing the bill and you can oogle Barton all you want. And I might have mentioned that you'd be here.”

“Lovely.” I groaned, shaking my head. “You do realize he's going to come rushing over here and play the protector? And I was not oogling.”

“I told him that Clint and Tasha would be here, he seemed okay with that. I know the two of you didn't split on the best of terms since you dumped him. And you did oogle.”

“I didn't dump him, we just-”

“You dumped him.” Natasha chimed in at that point and I turned to look back at her, then to Tony.

“I felt like I was dating my brother! He's so damn-”

“Polite? Proper? Chivalrous?”

I glared after Tony finished and blew out a breath.

“I have no clothes to change into. You going to take care of that for me?” Changing the subject was always a safe thing to do when a conversation headed in a direction you didn't want.

“I’m sure you can give Pepper a list of things that she can get for you. She’s pretty good with that kind of stuff. She does manage to take care of me pretty well. You really don’t think I go clothes shopping do you?

“You’re such a narcissist, I figured you had your own private tailors come in and make your underwear for you too.”

“I am not!”

“Oh you so are Tony! Ask anyone.”

Tony turned to look back toward Barton, who grinned.

“She called it pretty accurately.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and Tony frowned before he turned back to Barton.

“She was oogling you ya know? Really oogling you. I think she likes you.”

I could feel the blood rush to my face. I must have been cherry red with embarrassment but it was the response that made my face burn even more.

“I saw that. I don’t mind so much. I can see why Steve was so upset.”

“Where’s my room? I’d like to go kill myself now.” I mumbled under my breath.

Tony stood and laughed.

“Serves you right for calling me a narcissist and breaking Steve's heart.”

“It's still the truth and it's not like we were married or engaged! We dated!”

Huffing as I stood up, I had ever intention of locking myself in the bathroom but Tony reached out and grabbed my hand.

“I'm sorry about teasing you about Steve.”

“It’s not just that. You just told me I’m in danger. I have SHIELD agents watching over me that isn't something that just happens cause you called in a favor.”

“You're right, you should be concerned, but we're not going to let anything happen to you. We're going to keep you out of their hands and alive.”

I wasn’t going to argue. I couldn’t so I nodded before he leaned in and kissed my cheek quickly.

“Try and relax okay, hang out with Clint and Tasha, have some food, watch movies or something.”

He walked over and slid his arm around Pepper while he spoke to Natasha and Clint quietly, as if I wasn’t there. 

I stood there and worried. It was the one thing I figured I could do, at least safely.


	2. Chapter Two

Dinner had been rather revealing. No longer were my “captors” just Barton and Romanov but now Clint and Natasha. We had Chinese delivered to us and sat around drinking beer, eating and getting to know each other.  
The first thing I noticed was that the two of them knew each other well. It was eerie how they could all but finish the others sentence or could look at each other and smile, as if there was this unspoken understanding between them. It must be nice to be that close to someone, that you trust them so implicitly. I guessed that they were more than work associates with how close they seemed.  
I was almost finished eating when Natasha looked at me.  
“Stark talks pretty highly of you, he thinks a lot of you to ask us to step in.”  
“I guess so,” I agreed, “Pepper and I were friends before I became friends with Tony. She introduced us obviously but I don’t think Tony expected to meet someone who gave him shit back. I never was really impressed with who he was or anything. I’ve been around rich wealthy snobbish men all my life but Tony, he’s a decent guy beneath all the bullshit.”  
Tasha smiled and looked down.  
“Is that how you met Steve?”  
I had a feeling that question was going to come up sooner or later.  
“Yeah, it wasn't planned, I came over to drop off something for Pepper while Steve was there and Tony introduced us. It was all of five minutes but then when I got home I got a text from Steve asking me out to dinner. He was cute and I said yes. We went out for about two months.”  
“So why'd you dump him?” Barton asked with a mouthful of rice. I turned and frowned at him at about the same time a cellphone rang. I watched Natasha pull hers from her side and put it to her ear. She stood and walked away from us.  
“Sooooo.. why'd you dump him?” He just wasn't going to let it go.  
“I didn't dump him! I just told him I wasn't ...into him. I mean he's a great guy and.....Oh hell I dumped him”  
He grinned and laid his fork down.  
“So tell me about your boss, anything we should know about him, anything that could help us out?”  
“This whole Halestone deal was odd from the get go. It’s some mine down in South Africa and some mineral that they never said by name or anything. Harkiss bought the land out from under some other company with the help of a loan from someone. He paid the loan back but whoever they were, they wanted in on whatever is in this mine or cave or whatever it is. Well then things started happening at the cave site, weird shit. Some of the workers died, some disappeared and others, they changed.”  
“Okay, wanna explain that?”  
“Some went nuts. Personalities changed, some became polar opposites of what they were before, and others....well they'd be like, I dunno... super human, like umm... Steve.”   
He smirked and shook his head.  
“So they started to get abilities they never had before, lovely.” He seemed upset by that, looking down at his food, shaking his head. I guess I couldn't really blame him, it freaked me out too. I poked at my rice with a fork then looked over at him.  
“How bad is this, really?”  
He lifted his head and our gazes locked.  
“You're safe.”  
“That isn't what I asked Clint,”  
We stared at each other for a few seconds before he licked his lips and drew in a breath.  
“You know the location of that cave don't you?”  
I nodded, wishing in that very moment that I didn't know it. I hadn't tried to learn it but it was something that came up over and over and it was hard to ignore after things started to go wrong there.  
“You do what Natasha and I tell you, and you'll get out of this alive.” There was something in his eyes that didn't match the words he was telling me. I dropped the fork into the styrofoam container and rubbed the bridge of my nose. I felt him grab my hand that laid on the table and he squeezed it.  
“I promise I'm not going to let anything happen to you.”  
This was not how I had planned things would go. I woke up thinking it'd be another boring day at the office, this was turning out to be anything but.  
Natasha walked back over and I looked up at her. It barely registered that Barton was still holding my hand.  
“That was Coulson, I have to head out, looks like they're sending me to track down Harkiss, he left the country today.” her gaze fell on me then, “Anything you can give us on him would help right now.”  
Barton let go of my hand as I stood, “I need some paper. I can give you numbers, names, accounts in other countries and the pseudonyms he likes to use when he travels.”  
Natasha pulled a pad of paper from a drawer and an ink pen. In just a few moments I'd written down everything I thought might help track him down. I tore off the paper and handed it to her.  
“That's everything I can think of, just, let me know when you locate him?”  
“I will. Barton will be here with you and I should be back in a couple days at the most. The library in the other room has some decent books and I'd order every pay per view you can, just to run up Starks' pay per view tab.” She grinned and then headed toward the door. I watched Barton walk over to meet her at the door. They exchanged a few words and caught myself biting my lip, my gut twisting. I was actually jealous of how he talked to her. I quickly turned around and went into the kitchen, pulling the refridgerator open to see what might be in it. I heard the door close and I tried to ignore it but a few seconds later Barton was standing at the door to the kitchen.  
“Feel up to watching a movie?” he asked me and I looked up at him, letting the door shut on it's own.  
“Might as well, not much else to do.”  
We walked together into the living area and he took one end of the couch, me the other. I kicked off my heels and tucked my legs up under me. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on and then began the manly searching of the channels.  
“Seriously Clint, is this like a guy thing? You can't just go right to the pay per views and pick something out?”   
He looked over at me and frowned.  
“Why pay for something if something else is on for free?”  
“You just went through 200 channels so fast there is no way we could have known what was on.”  
“It was commercials and stuff,” He didn't say anything else as he went to the pay pew view section, “I'm not doing a chick flick so don't ask.”  
“I hate those, find action or comedy. Comedy is good, kind of like my life right now.”  
“Earlier it was more action if you ask me.” I looked over at him and he grinned. I watched him for a moment, thinking that it was just no good for me to even remotely consider him attractive. He had these lips that looked like they were made to be kissed and his arms were sculpted like some statute from a museum. He turned to look at me straight on and I was drawn into his gaze again. His eyes were such a beautiful shade of green. I was thinking of something to compare them to when he spoke.  
“See something you like Reynolds?”  
That pulled me out of my thoughts and I blinked,   
“Yeah. No! I mean no, I was just, your eyes are green.”  
“Are they? I had no idea.”  
“You're an asshole!”  
His brow arched and he tilted his head.  
“And just who saved your ass today at work?”  
“Natasha, she drove,” I was baiting him, I knew it and it was fun. He laid the remote on the arm of the couch and turned so that his body was facing me.  
“Natasha? You want to rethink that?” He looked like a cat about to pounce and the look on his face gave me goosebumps. I slid my legs out from under me and stood, smirking at him.   
“She did the driving, all you did was walk me to the van and yell a lot.” I made sure I said this as I was slowly making my way toward the hallway. I had my escape route planned. The bathroom had a lock on the door and I knew there was no way he was going to let me get away with my comments.  
“Where ya headed Laina?” he asked as he stood, taking a step toward me.   
I didn't even attempt to say anything to him and I took off at a run toward the bathroom. I don't believe I'd even managed four steps toward the hall before his arms were around my waist and I screamed with laughter. He spun and somehow, gracefully, had me on the ground on my back with him on top of me. He grabbed my writsts and pinned them to the floor. He was straddling my waist and staring down at me.  
“You wanna rethink those comments?”   
I couldn't stop laughing and he was smiling at me. I couldn't help but think again how damn gorgeous the man was.   
“Aww what's the matter babe, don't like that I reminded you that Tasha was the one who saved our asses?”  
He leaned down toward me and our noses were almost touching.  
“Who saved our-”  
The front door opening made both of us look over. My throat got tight and I was instantly sick to my stomach.   
Steve stood in the doorway, one hand still on the doorknob, the other holding a six pack of beer.  
“So it seems I'm interrupting.”


	3. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

Clint leaned back, resting is hands on his thighs still straddling my waist.

“Hey Steve. You're not interrupting anything.” I shoved at Clint's arms, trying to give him the hint to get off of me but he looked down at me with a grin, “Something wrong?”

“Get off me,” I could feel the weight of Steve's gaze before I rolled my head over to look up at him. “Hey, hi how are you?”

“Not quite sure yet Alaina,” his voice was less than amused and it irked me. I looked at Clint, taking my frustration out on him as I shoved him hard to the side and he went over easily. I think he knew that I was a little miffed at what Steve had said. When I was on my feet, I straightened my shirt and glanced over at him.

“I'm assuming you came to hang out with Clint. I'll leave you to it.” There was no way I was going to sit in a room with both of them and keep up the uncomfortable tension. I was going to take was left of my pride and hide out in one of the massive bedrooms. If I ended up safe after all of this I was going to kick Tony in the shins for telling Steve where I was. 

My escape was thwarted when Steve took a step forward and grabbed my hand. 

“Actually I came for you,” without even looking at him I knew he was genuinely concerned, I could hear it in his voice. I tried my best to not seem affected by it but my insides were already turning to mush. His thumb slid over the skin on my wrist and I turned to catch his gaze then. 

“I'm okay. Tony has Clint and Natasha watching out for me.” my voice was softer than I expected it to be and I couldn't look away from him. He came for me? After I broke up with him? 

“I'll be here too.” He let go of my hand and I quickly turned away, not knowing how to face him or even how to handle the situation. I had broke things off between us and I still wasn't sure why I had. Well I had my reasons but to anyone else they sounded insane. 

Clint reached for the beer then, breaking the silence.

“Why don't you give me those and I'll put them away. You up for one right now?” That was when I took the chance to finish my escape down the hall. I heard Steve agree to the beer before I closed the bathroom door. I flipped the light, drawing in several deep breaths. Why was it that just seeing him sent every nerve ending in my body on high alert? I rubbed my hands over my face, took a minute for myself and then opened the door. Steve was standing there, in the hallway, waiting. Catching my bottom lip with my teeth I looked up at him. He reached out pushed my hair back off of my shoulder.

“What's going on Alaina? Stark didn't say much, just that you were in danger and he was putting you up here. I got here as quick as I could.” His gaze made its way from my hair back to meet mine.

“With beer?” 

He tilted his head and the light from the window of the bedroom illuminated his face with a golden hue. His blue eyes seemed brighter, more blue. 

“Gave me time to think about what I was going to say when I got here,” he reached out and took my hand, holding it, thumb sliding over my fingers, “So why did Stark bring you here?”

My fingers wrapped around his and I licked my lips.

“Seems my boss bought a mine or cave or something and there are people out there who want to know the location.”

“And you know the location?” 

“Yeah, and from the gunfire and high speed getaway, I think the people that want that information are pretty serious about it.”

He took a step closer and his free hand went to my waist.

“Tasha and Clint know their stuff, they'll keep you safe,” his voice had gotten even softer and he leaned in toward me.

“How do you know---”

The sound of Clint clearing his throat made us both turn. I quickly let go of Steve's hand and drew in a breath at about the same time he took a step back. We had to have looked like kids sneaking around in high school. If Clint noticed, he pretended as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Just thought you might want to watch that movie. Steve, you're more than welcome to join, I got ya a beer,” he said as he held the bottle up. I hurried down the hall, and looked at Clint. I couldn't really gauge his reaction. He looked fine, and yet he also looked a little pissed. Of course that was the least of my worries as I sat down in the chair next to the couch. I was going to stare at the TV screen if it killed me and ignore both of them. I was being childish and I knew it but I didn't know how to handle this. 

I looked up as both of them walked into the living room, Steve twisting the cap off of his bottle as he looked over at Clint.

“So what's up with the situation. I wasn't told much so bring me to speed.”

“Nat just left to go follow Harkiss, seems he fled the country, or worse. I'm leaning toward worse. Most of his computer files and information were deleted when some of our guys headed to the office and the office looked like it had been torn apart, must have happened not too long after we got Alaina. Little miss over there is the only person right now that knows the exact location of that mine.”

That caught my attention and I lifted my head.

“What?”

Clint looked over at me, “When Nat got the call, it was that Harkiss was gone and your offices were trashed. Not thirty minutes after we got to you, couple security guys at the building were injured.”

Cold spread through my veins and I instantly felt sick. This wasn't just Tony being overprotective, this was real. Roger could be dead and I was the only person who knew where that stupid mine was. I leaned forward and took in a deep breath as the room spun a little. This was real and I think that fact hit home later than it should have. I stood and rushed for the bathroom, making it just in time to lose what I had managed to eat at dinner. I grabbed the sides of the toilet at the same time I felt hands pulling my hair back from my face. I wasn't sure who it was and I didn't care.

“This isn't happening. This wasn't supposed to be like this,” I whispered, slowly standing up straight. Steve let go of my hair and cupped my face in his hands.

“You're safe, Clint and I will do whatever we have to, to keep you safe.”

My heart was beating so fast that I was lightheaded and shivered, suddenly feeling cold. 

“How can you keep me safe? These are people that are willing to kill Roger! What if they did kill him? What makes you think you can protect me? What if they find out wer'e here, or they find out that Tony helped me?” Clint was standing in the doorway of the bathroom and I glanced over at him before Steve turned my face slightly, forcing me to look at him once more.

“Stark can take care of himself, calm down, take a deep breath and just breathe. You're perfectly safe here. I need you to calm down, everything is going to be okay.” 

“How can you say that? What if something happens to you? What if you get hurt trying to protect me? Why is this happening?” 

I found myself looking into his blue eyes, hoping for some answer that made it better, that made me feel safer but it wasn't there. I saw his concern and there was something else that I couldn't read, maybe sadness? He slid his hand into the back of my hair and pulled me against his chest. My arms wound around him without a fight and I held onto him. This was so much bigger than I thought and it was real. I wasn't entirely sure what I was thinking earlier, maybe it was Clint and Tasha's casual attitude that gave me such a false sense of safety, or even Tony's casual manner about it but they were used to things like this, they fought people and things that I could never even comprehend. I was a secretary who just happened to know too much.

“Don't worry Alaina, you're safe here. Tony wouldn't have called us if he thought we couldn't do the job.” It was Clint that spoke but I didn't move from where I was against Steve's chest.

“Please don't put yourself in danger because of me Steve,” I said quietly and I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head.

“Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.” Clint chuckled behind us.

“I think Steve is more than capable of taking care of himself and you too.”

I lifted my head from his chest to look up at Steve at the same time that he turned, frowning at Clint.

“Clint..”

“What does that mean?” I asked at the same time. My gaze went from Clint, to Steve then back to Clint, “What?”

A look of shock crossed Clint's face then and I could see he realized his mistake. He seemed shocked as he looked from me to Steve.

“She doesn't know?”

“I don't know what?”

“No Barton, she didn't know.”

“Well how was I supposed to know she didn't know?”

“What don't I know?!”

“You could have asked!” Steve sounded angry.

“Well I would have thought she would know if you were dating her and she's friends with Tony.”

“Well it wasn't something I just offered because we were dating!”

I stepped back from Steve as the two of them continued to trade comments.

“Would either of you like to tell me what you're talking about?”

Clint grinned and took a step backward.

“I'll leave the two of you to talk.” 

“Oh no, you're not leaving until I know what's going on.”

My gaze shifted to Steve then and I folded my arms across my chest. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at me. It was easy to see he was searching for words and I just waited.

“Steve?”

He turned to look at Clint, who held his hands up.

“Don't look at me. I didn't know she didn't know!”

“What don't I know?!” I was beginning to wonder what was going on.

“Steve is part of the Avengers,” Clint finally said, “He's more than capable of helping us protect you.”

“Seriously, what is this big secret?”

Both men looked at me then and it was easy to see that they weren't kidding. I looked at Steve, then to Clint and back to Steve.

“No, that's not possible. You're not... “ Pieces in my brain began to fit together, little nuances, things that had been said and I never noticed. His manners, the way he acted, it was all right there and I just didn't connect the dots. Why else would Tony be friends with a guy who was the cliché' example of a boy scout?

“Alaina, “ his voice was soft as he spoke, “I didn't tell you because I didn't want that to be the reason we were dating. I wanted it to be real, you know just a guy and a girl going out on dates.” 

I closed the seat on the toilet and sat down, still gazing up at him. I could see it now, why I hadn't noticed it before made me feel rather dumb to be honest. I blew out a breath and hung my head. This was too much for one day and I let out a sarcastic laugh. That feeling of foolishness, stupidity slowly faded into anger, not at the two of them but more myself for not seeing it, for not missing the signs and most of all because I didn't want to feel stupid or scared.

“Would you guys leave please?”

“Reynolds, I didn't know-” I cut him off.

“I know, and to be honest I don't care right now just give me some space.”

“Alaina please,” Steve took a step forward then and I held up a hand, still not looking at either of them.

“Go, both of you, just give me a few minutes alone.”

I heard Clint turn and walk away but I knew Steve was still there.

“I'm sorry Alaina, I wanted to tell you but there was never a time that seemed right.”

“I'm sorry too Steve. Please. Just go.”

He turned and walked out, saying “Sorry” once more before he closed the bathroom door behind him. 

I sat there, staring at the floor, running through so many emotions that I wasn't sure what to feel. Anger, fear, relief and then after all of those I felt guilt. I stood and locked the door then and leaned against it. I couldn't believe this was happening. Life had been boring, ordinary just hours earlier and now it was utter chaos and to top it all off...

I'd dumped Captain America. 

Lovely.


	4. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

 

Sleep wasn't happening, no matter how hard I might have tried. The things that had happened over the course of my day left my mind with too many questions, not enough answers and a healthy dose of guilt to top it all off. I flipped from my right side to my left staring out the window at the sky through the slits of the blinds. I wasn't sure where all of this was going to go. How could I have missed that Steve was Captain America? Maybe the fact that I barely watched TV and lived my life inside an office building twenty four seven. I had no life to speak of so why should I know? I knew of the attack on New York, Pepper had filled me in on what she knew, I knew about what had happened in California after all of that. Captain America was a guy in a suit who saved New York, not the guy I was dating. 

I flopped to my back and blew out a breath. I needed to do something, get a drink of something strong and try and actually stop thinking. I swung my feet off of the bed and walked over to the closet, grabbing the robe that hung there to wrap around myself. I'd taken one of Tony's shirts to use as a night shirt and from how soft it was, I figured it cost more than I wanted to think about. 

Pulling the door open I stepped into the hallway and stopped in my tracks. Steve and Natasha were standing near the front door. He was in pajama pants, bare feet and bare chested. Natasha was in jeans and a tshirt, holding a jacket in her hand. I couldn't hear what she said but she smiled and then Steve took hold of her upper arms. I heard him clearly when he told her. “Be safe and come back in one piece.” I felt my stomach sink to my feet when they leaned into each other and kissed, I mean it looked like a kiss. How could it not be? I turned and went back into my room and suddenly felt like I wanted to cry. That just made me more angry and I turned and punched the pillow next to me. I broke up with him, what right did I have to be upset? I mean she was gorgeous, what man wouldn't want her? But it wasn't fair that she got to be close to Clint and Steve! I crossed my arms over my chest and paced beside the bed before I walked over and looked out the window again. I was jealous, angry and hurt. It made absolutely no sense that I was upset. I dumped Steve, I broke it off, it was my fault, but that didn't mean that I didn't like him. It didn't mean that I wished things had been different because I wished they had. 

Cars moved along the streets as people went on with their lives, went to dinner, came home from work. I was standing in a penthouse apartment, somewhere on the edge of the city and hiding from people that wanted what I knew. I leaned my head against the glass, thinking back to conversations I'd had with Roger, about the mine, about what they'd found. A rare metal he'd called it, I was a secretary, not a science major so I never made it my job to learn. The coordinates I did know because he'd had me map them several times. He was very careful with that information and I remember him shredding documents several times regarding it. You never see the trouble in things like that until it's too late.

Making my way back to the bed, I tossed the robe on the end of the bed and laid back down. I wanted to forget what I was feeling, wanted to forget what I'd seen but that image was going to be burned into my mind forever. Seeing them lean together, knowing that she was kissing him, that he cared about her enough to say what he'd said to her. I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the burn in my throat. I pulled the extra pillow to me and finally just let go. I cried over seeing Steve kiss Natasha, over the fact that Roger was more than likely dead, and that there was a good chance I'd be dead too.

***

My first thought was how bad my head hurt. My eyes ached too from my total breakdown the night before. I'd cried myself to sleep. I figured if I looked hard enough that I'd find something in the medicine cabinet for my throbbing head. I didn't even bother with the robe as I made my way to the bathroom. My hair was a mess and I tried to smooth it down as I searched through the medicine cabinet. I found ibuprofen and poured three in my hand and headed for the kitchen.

The living room really had no walls on one side since it was windows. We were up high enough I wasn't worried about peeping in but I was more than glad that it was going to be stormy day. The dark clouds kept the room a bit darker than it might normally have been. I came around the corner of the kitchen and stopped, seeing Clint standing there, leaning against the counter, wearing a pair of gray jogging shorts and nothing else. His hair was sticking straight up on one side, and he had a sleepy look on his face as he took a sip from the mug in his hand. He turned to look at me and there was that instant realization that I was in nothing but Tony's shirt and a pair of panties. Clint's eyes opened just a bit wider as he swallowed. 

“Morning” he said as he looked me over. It wasn't like he tried to hide it either, he started from the ground up and then smirked at me. 

“Nice,” he said with a grin and I rolled my eyes.

“Could you get me a glass?” I asked as I turned the water in the faucet on.

“You look like you had a rough night,” his voice was quiet as he offered me the glass.

“You could say that,” 

“Care to share?” He took another sip of the coffee and I watched him, saw that his attention was fully on me and I sighed.

“Nothing you can really do about it,” I filled the glass before I took a drink, popped the pills and swallowed them down.

“Won't know til you talk to me, “ he sat the mug down and leaned back, both hands gripping the counter behind him, “Come on Alaina, we're here to help, whatever that might mean.”

“Oh I bet” I said it under my breath and then looked over at him. The sight of him distracted me. I noticed the muscles in his arms, how defined they were, how they tensed when he shifted his weight in the slightest manner. I closed my eyes to clear the image from my head and opened them to look at him again. 

Our gazes met and I couldn't really look away from him. I felt like he knew that I coudn't begin to put into words what I was feeling. He let go of the counter and took a step toward me. My heart felt like it was stuck in my throat, not beating, just there, waiting for something to happen as I took a step toward him and stopped. I had to tip my head slightly to keep focused on his eyes, he wasn't as tall as Steve, but just tall enough that I couldn't look him in the eyes. He reached out with his right hand, sliding it into my hair before he pulled me to him. There was no hesitation as I leaned in and kissed him, my arms winding around his neck. His free hand went to the small of my back, pulling me hard against him. I licked his bottom lip, tasting coffee and sugar before his tongue met mine. His mouth covered mine more as he turned me, pressing me into the fridge and I jumped from the chill of it. He pulled back quickly, and I gasped, eyes opening to meet his. Our gazes were locked for just a few seconds before his mouth was on mine again. His hands came up to the sides of my face, into my hair as the kiss got deeper, our tongues dueling for control. My hands grabbed the back of his neck and slid up into his hair. He pressed against me harder then and I whimpered against his lips.

I was so lost in the kiss that I barely heard Steve when he cleared his throat It wasn't until Clint pulled away from me and stepped back did I look in the direction he was looking. Steve was standing in the doorway of the kitchen and he was glaring at us. If looks could have killed I have no doubt there would have been a double homecide. Clint reached for his coffee and took another drink. I couldn't look away from Steve. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something and then closed it and turned without a word. The door slamming left little doubt that he was pissed at what he'd seen.

I let out a sigh, not realizing I'd been holding my breath and then looked over at Clint. He winked at me and started to say something when Natasha threw open the door. She was breathing heavily and there was little doubt she'd been running. 

“You need to get her out of here now, they're coming!”


	5. Chapter 5 - Steve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a note:  
> From this point on in the story, you will see the chapter number either followed by Steve or Clint. I am going to write TWO versions of the story, one with Alaina and Steve and the other version with Alaina and Clint. This came about when I had ideas for both characters and thought I might as well have some fun. Hope you enjoy it as much as I am!

**CHAPTER FIVE - STEVE-**

I barely had time to think before Steve had my hand and was pulling me toward the hall. There was a large boom and then the wall of windows of the living room exploded in a shower of glass, spraying out in every direction. Steve had turned his back to the window, shielding me from the brunt of it but I still felt it on my arms and legs, like small pin pricks.

“Cap, get her out of here!” Clint yelled as Tasha threw him a bag. I didn't see much more before Steve guided me down the hall. Gunfire erupted behind us and I covered my head instinctively. I couldn't understand why he was taking me toward the bedrooms, how the hell were we going to get out of the apartment? 

“What about Clint and Tasha?” I yelled as he pulled me toward the walk in closet.   
“Don't worry about them, they'll be fine. Come on” he said as he shoved the clothes aside and there was a handle and a door that I would have never seen even if I looked for it. We were in a stairwell that had a very narrow staircase lit with red lights. This way out had been created just for purposes like this. He pulled it closed behind us and turned, grabbing my arms. 

“Whatever I tell you to do, you do it. No questions, alright?” I nodded, unable to do much more. He grabbed my hand and we started down the stairs. He was much faster than me and I almost fell several times.

“Come on Alaina, we have to move!”

I didn't know how I was keeping up with him and I was also beginning to wonder just how far up we were. All I could hear were the sound of our bare feet and heavy breathing as we circled our way down. My head was spinning and I felt like it was never going to end. 

Steve rounded a corner and finally stopped at a door, the first we'd seen and pulled it open, carefully looking out before he tugged me out into what looked to the be the parking garage. He kept tight hold of my hand as we ran. The level was empty save for a couple vehicles against the wall. A black pick up and two smaller black sports cars. Reaching the car, he opened the passenger door for me.

“Hurry” I pretty much jumped into the truck and looked over at him as he climbed in. He grabbed the keys from the ashtray and started the truck. It hit me then that he was still in his pajama pants and his back was now covered in blood, and it was running down, soaking into the waist band of his pajamas.

“Steve.. you're bleeding,” I reached over to touch his arm and felt that some of the glass was still embedded into his skin and he flinched with a hiss.

“I'll be fine, we can deal with that later.

We pulled out of the lot and merged into traffic. My hands were shaking and I put them between my legs to try and steady myself.

“How did they find us there?”

“Not sure, but Stark is not going to be happy about his windows.” Steve forced a smile as he looked over at me and I leaned back, turning to look out the window. I was still thinking about Clint and how he'd kissed me right before all hell broke loose. There was no logical reason for it, at least none I could think of. I mean we'd flirted but what would make him just do that. I raised a hand to my lips, letting my fingers rest against them as I replayed it in my mind. 

Steve slammed on the brakes and I had to throw my hand out to catch myself, before looking at the traffic, then over to him. He was looking at me and there was that look on his face, the same one I'd seen the flash of before Natasha ran into the apartment.

“What?” I asked him as he turned to face forward, turning down a side street, then through a parking lot. I turned just in time to see a car that was coming at us full speed and didn't appear like it was going to stop. “Steve!”

He turned, and slammed the gas, the other car just barely missing us but hitting a car that was behind us. The sound of it made my ears ring and my teeth hurt.

“Get your seat belt on.” 

He didn't need to tell me twice as I grabbed the belt, putting it around me and gripping the handle above the door as we took a corner so fast I thought we might tip over. I squealed as Steve took another turn, taking us down another side street. Turning around I saw the car that had almost hit us now behind us. 

“They're behind us,”

“I know that. We'll lose them in a minute.”

I hoped he knew what he was talking about because I was beginning to wonder if I really was going to make it out of all this alive. I really had no choice but to hold on and hope he knew what he was doing. Of course I kept coming back to the fact that he was Captain America. It was like reliving the shock all over again, I had no time to even react when we took another turn and I was thrown almost into his lap, even with the seat belt on. I heard the first of several gunshots and I screamed. I'd already been through this twice and each time was way too close for my tastes. 

Steve turned down a street and two black sedans fell in behind us. I could hear gunfire again and I turned, seeing that we were putting space between us and the bad guys. My guess was that SHIELD was behind the two cars who seemed to give us the break we needed.

A glance at the dash let me see that we were going well over eighty miles an hour but the city was now fading into country. Farms replaced businesses. Rolling fields were now the norm and I actually felt like maybe we were in the clear. I drew in a deep breath and blew it out as I leaned back, closing my eyes. I was actually wondering if Tasha and Clint were okay. 

We rode in silence for quite a while, through country roads and it seemed we had ventured into the middle of nowhere. I was shocked when he finally broke the silence.

“So you and Barton huh?”

I didn't raise my head from the seat, merely rolled it toward him so I could see him. 

“What bout Clint?” He glanced over at me, then back at the road.

“How long's that been a thing? You and him?”

“There's no thing, I just met him yesterday morning when he and Tasha basically kidnapped me from work.”

His brows rose and he gave a nodded but the look he gave me clearly let me know he didn't believe me.

“I don't even know him!”

“So you always kiss guys in their underwear in the kitchen when you're wearing only a shirt?” he asked and there was a bit of snark to it. I opened my mouth to say something and closed it. Was he seriously upset over that? 

“People are trying to kill me and you have your panties in a twist cause Clint kissed me?”

“What does that mean?”

“What do you mean what does that mean?”

“My panties in a twist? What does that mean?”

I snorted at him, rolling my eyes.

“Don't tell me you've never heard that phrase before,”

“I can't say that I have. What's it mean?”

“It means you're upset that Clint kissed me, it makes you uncomfortable,”

“Damn right it does,” he turned into a long gravel drive off the main road. In the distance I could see a pale blue farmhouse. It looked rather nice from where we were. He pulled the truck to a stop and turned the ignition off and looked at me, “Why wouldn't I be?”

“Why should you be?” 

“You were kissing him Alaina.”

“Can we go inside now?” I jerked the seat belt off of me and threw the door open. My feet hit gravel and I danced off of it to the grass, feeling the instant chill of the air. I rubbed my arms and turned to see him coming around the front of the truck. 

The blood I had noticed from his back and arms earlier had soaked a good portion of the waistband of his pants and I could see just how much of the glass he'd taken when he put himself between me and the windows. He went up the two steps to the screen door and pulled it open before he reached above the door frame to get the key. He opened the door and we made our way into the kitchen. It was just as quaint on the inside as it was on the outside. I looked around as Steve closed and locked the door. 

“Are you and Clint-”

“No! We're not, it was nothing.”

“Didn't look like nothing from where I stood,” 

“Oh yeah and you kissing Natasha and telling her to come back in once piece was nothing too huh?” I began to walk through the house, Steve right on my backside.

“I didn't kiss Nat, why would you think that?” 

I spun on him then, poking his chest.

“You kissed her last night, I got up and I saw you. I was in the hallway.”

He shook his head, looking at me as if I'd spoke Greek.

“I didn't kiss... we didn't.. I kissed her cheek. She's a good friend.”

“Yeah.. sure.” 

“I didn't kiss her Laina, why would I lie about that?”

“Why would I lie about Clint?” 

We stared at each other and he finally shook his head and turned to walk away. It was then that I saw just how bad his back was. 

“Steve.. let me get the glass,” I didn't let him argue with me and I grabbed his wrist, tugging him back toward the kitchen, “Sit down and I'll see what we've got here to clean you up with”

He didn't argue. He spun one of the kitchen chairs around and straddled it, folded his arms on the back of the chair and rested his head on his arms.

I was beginning to wonder if I was the bad guy, or the guys who wanted me dead, because it was getting kind of hard for me to tell the difference.


	6. Chapter Six - STEVE-

**CHAPTER SIX -STEVE-**

Going through the closets and the things through the house I figured out this must be some kind of safe house. I found all sorts of first aid equipment, as well as weapons, protective gear and that was just what I was able to find without digging into the boxes that were in some of the closets.

My hands were full of peroxide, some gauze pads, tweezers, and a couple washcloths. I sat them all on the table and noticed that Steve hadn't moved in the entire time that I'd been gathernig things. I pulled a chair up and began to get things ready.

“You okay?” 

“Yeah,” his voice was soft, muffled since his head was resting on his arms. I looked at his back and realized there was far more glass than I thought. I started with my fingers first, picking out the bigger pieces that were easy to see, then followed that with sliding my fingers over every little spot of blood to see if I could feel the glass in his skin. I hated it when he flinched, it seemed the smaller they were the more it bothered him. I poured the peroxide on some of the gauze and began to gently clean away the blood from his skin.   
“If I haven't mentioned it before, thanks for protecting me.” Had he not put himself between me and the window, it would be the side of my body that had all these glass pieces, not his. There was silence and I figured he was either too upset to talk or didn't want to talk to me. I poured more of the liquid on the gauze and dabbed at more space.

“There's nothing between Clint and I. Never met him before yesterday and to be honest, I don't know why he kissed me, he just...did.”

I dabbed at another few spots on his back, and then found another piece of glass I pulled out before he spoke.

“Do you like him?”

“I don't even know him. He's attractive, but I don't know enough to say I like him or not. I'd never met him before he grabbed me and stuck me in a van.” I worked at getting all the blood off of him, making sure I got all the glass I could out of his skin.

“Why did we stop dating?”

That stopped me in my tracks, thankful that I could't' see his face. He sounded so defeated and that made me feel like even more of an ass. I drew in a breath and then let it out.

“I don't know, I guess I just felt like we didn't... “ I couldn't even come up with the right words that would make sense. I wasn't entirely sure why I broke up with him. I felt, inferior to him in ways I couldn't explain. He was drop dead gorgeous, had a body better than a certain Demi-God I'd seen pictures of and he was charming to a fault. What wasn't to like about him?

“We didn't what?” He and spun the chair around so he could face me. He sat back down and rested his hands on the back of the chair once more. I watched him and gave a shrug of my shoulders.

“I don't know. We just, you didn't seem interested and I was always busy with my job-”

“You don't have a job now and what gave you the idea I wasn't interested? Why would you think that?”

“Do we really have to do this Steve? I'd rather just.. “ I blew out a breath and slid my hands back through my hair, “Why is this so important to you?”

“Because it is. I think a man deserves to know why a woman stops answering his calls, and texts and then says it's not going to work.” 

I stood up, and walked toward the sink, putting my hands on the counter, lowering my head as I breathed in deeply. I needed to get away from him for my thoughts to make any sense, because being here in the same room with him made me think I was nuts. I heard him move the chair and I looked over at him as he stood up. He was looking me over and he frowned.

“You didn't tell me you got hurt,” he was looking down at my legs and I looked down then too. 

I'd not realized that I had as many small cuts as I did but there were small blood trails down my legs and I turned my foot so I could look at them more. 

“I knew I got hit with some glass but it doesn't hurt really.”

He grabbed my waist and lifted me up, sitting me on the counter, he took my ankle in his hand and turned my leg slightly to look at them closer.

“You still should have told me.”

“I was more interested in getting away and not getting shot,” I reminded him, “It's fine, when I take a bath you'll barely know they were even there.” I went to pull my leg from his grasp but he held it, looking up at me, then back down at my leg. My chest was getting tighter the longer he touched me and it was getting hard to breathe. His hand slid up my calf and it seemed like his gaze followed suit, up the length of my leg, and then to my face. 

“I don't like that you got hurt,” He stepped closer, putting himself between my legs. His hand was now on my thigh, fingers teasing my skin with soft circles. I tried to swallow and found it almost impossible. My heart was there, beating hard and fast as we looked at each other. He was the first one to break contact and looked down at where his hand rested on my leg. I wanted to scream, to make him notice me, to see me and it was like he just didn't get the hint.

“Steve,” his name came off my lips in a whisper, much quieter than I had intended. He lifted his head and I did what I had been wanting to do since he'd shown up at the apartment the night before; I kissed him. 

It was soft at first, a simple brush against his lips, unsure if he'd kiss me back or pull away, considering he wasn't all that happy that I'd broken up with him. He inhaled as he leaned toward me then, hands sliding up my thighs to my waist, lips pressing harder against mine. My hands cupped his face as I tilted my head so I could sneak a taste of his lips with my tongue. I ran it over his bottom lip slowly before using my teeth to gently tug at it. His hands went up to my waist and he pulled me forward on the counter until our bodies were touching. Without thought I wrapped my legs around his waist, using them to hold onto him, not willing to let him move away. It seemed every time we'd kiss when we were dating he'd find a reason to pull away, or step away and I refused to let him this time. I got chills when I felt his hands slide up my sides, raising the button up shirt that I had on. In all of the running and trying to get away, I hadn't even cared that I was in a mans button up and panties and nothing more. His hands were softer than I expected as he slid them up my sides and around to my back. I ran my thumbs along his jawline, feeling the stubble that had already begun to rise on his skin. Slowly I pulled from his lips, touching my nose to his, pressing a soft kiss to his lips once more. I couldn't help but stare at him, his eyes could always draw me in, and it hit me just how much I'd missed him. It was more than just his face, his good looks but I missed him. I missed his texts, I missed his manners, the way he always pulled out my chair, or opened the door for me. I missed the way he'd always put his hand at the small of my back in this protective yet possessive way. All of those little things that I found so old fashioned and out of place, I now thought of as charming. I kissed his lips once more, a quick chaste kiss.

“I'm sorry, for how things went with us. I just felt like you weren't all that interested?”

He lifted his hand and slid it down the back of my head and my hair, then smoothed it back from my face.

“Why would you think that Alaina? I was, am crazy about you.”

“Everytime I asked if you wanted to stay, or come up to the apartment you said No. You just seemed like you wanted to be friends.” I gave a shrug of my shoulders as I looked at him. He smiled and his cheeks flushed and he gave a short laugh.

“Oh it wasn't that I didn't want to but, I just thought it might not look,” he paushed and ilcked his lips. It dawned on me then that he was being a gentleman. Women in the forties didn't invite men up to their apartments to stay over, not unless they were married or a working girl.

“Can I tell you something?” 

“Of course,” he leaned in and kissed me softly, distracting me for just a moment or two. I pulled away and frowned at him.

“I was trying to tell you something,” 

 

He smiled as he wrapped a lock of my hair around his finger. He would gently pull it so the curl slipped off his finger and then he'd repeat the action.

“Sorry, you were saying?” I lightly punched him in the gut and he laughed. Both of his hands went back to my waist then and he gazed down at me.

“I was trying to tell you that if I had known, back then who you were, I would have understood a little more why you would turn me down when I asked you to come up to the apartment.”

We gazed at each other for just a few seconds before he leaned in and kissed me, his hands slowly sliding up under the button up, stroking my sides in slow up and down motions while he kissed me. When he pulled away he touched his nose to mine. 

“Well we're not going anywhere for a bit and we have this whole place all to ourselves,” I had no warning before he slid me off the counter and had me in his arms, smiling at me, “be a shame to not enjoy it.” 

I smiled and wound my arms around his neck, pressing another kiss to his lips. I could only hope that he had the same ideas in his head as me, or I was going to need a very very cold shower.


	7. Chapter Five - CLINT-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the alternate version if the story where Alaina escapes with Clint.

**CHAPTER FIVE -CLINT-**

Clint threw the mug into the sink and grabbed my arm. “With me Reynolds,” he said as he directed me out of the kitchen.

Steve came out and looked at Tasha then to us.

“Nat and I will keep them busy, you get her out of here. I'll contact you when things are clear.” I looked helplessly at Steve as Clint pulled me past him down the hallway.

“Clint will keep you safe, listen and do what he says,” Steve said as he disappeared into his room once more and Clint pushed me into a bedroom I'd not been into yet. He grabbed a pair of jeans, jumping into them and threw me a pair of sweats.

“Put those on, we have to get out of here.”

Getting yourself into a pair of sweatpants when you knew people were coming for you tended to make you clumsy. I tripped and would have fallen had Clint not grabbed my arm and kept me upright. I turned to look at him and there was this moment that our eyes met and I knew just how bad the situation was. The pants on, I looked to him for guidance and he yelled for Natasha.

She came running into the room, a gun in her hand.

“I need to know what my escape route is here,”

“Window, one floor down is the dummy apartment, living room closet door is an exit straight to the van.” she explained to him as he went to the window.

“You have got to be kidding me!” I was not cool with this at all, especially not fourteen or more stories up in a building. Natasha looked at me then

“You’ll be fine, it’s less than ten feet down to the next window,” she assured me, “you’ll be fine.”

“I am not going out that fucking window!”

“Would you rather meet these guys on the stairs and ask them if they’d mind moving out of your way so you can pass them?” Clint asked as he pulled a tshirt over his head, smirking over at Natasha.

“You don’t have time to argue Alaina, you guys need to get out of here,” Natasha said as she walked over and fired six shots into the window, shattering it, glass falling inside the room and outside falling down the side of the building. My ears were still ringing as I watched Clint grabbed a case, pull out a bow and slung something onto his back that was full of only what I guessed could be arrows. Natasha leaned out the window and then looked at me.

"Clint is going to lower you down, there's a balcony directly below you, just let go and it's no more than four feet or so."

I looked at her, then to him and nodded as I heard yelling and then banging on the apartment door.

"Come on, we have to move." Clint motioned me to him and I went.

Tasha explained how they were going to do lower me down and while it all sounded great. I was terrified. My heart was pounding in my chest as Natasha threw the comforter of the bed over the broken glass along the ledge. Clint walked over to the window.

"Faster we do this, faster you're on solid ground," I took a breath and pushed my fear down into my gut as I walked to the ledge of the window, "Swing your legs over the edge and then grab my arms, you hold on as tight as you can, Nat is going to stay right here just in case."

I looked at him as I sat on the edge of the window sill and put my legs over the edge, looking down before I turned to look at Clint. He grabbed my arms close to my elbows and I grabbed his in return.

"I'm going to start to lower you down, you tell me when to let go"

"Don't let me fall Barton." I wondered if my face looked as terrified as my voice sounded. He shook his head and

smiled at me.

"Not a chance Reynolds, now lets move it"

I sucked in a breath and turned the last little bit to let myself off the window sill. I could feel his grip tighten as all my weight was split between the two of us. I could see Tasha behind him with a grip on his the sides of the pants he had on. He bent over the window sill and I looked down, when I felt like I could drop without killing myself I let go and told him to let me go. He did and I landed hard on my feet. I grabbed the patio door fully expecting it to be locked but it slid open and I was never happier than in that moment. It was only a couple seconds later that Clint dropped down and came through the door and shut it behind him. He led me to the fake closet door, which lead us down a very narrow staircase to a service elevator. He was already punching the door close as I went in and he pulled me behind him.

“You let me go out first, stay behind me, stay close. We're going to be going to a silver van. When I tell you, you run get in and duck down. You got it?” he asked while the elevator took us down to the basement car garage. I nodded before I looked at the floors that we'd already descended past and drew in a breath.

“Where are we going? If they found us here, how do you think anywhere else we go is going to be safe?”

“It was never the plan for you to stay here the entire time, just til we had more of a clue of who is after this information so badly.”

I had to stop asking questions as we ran down the stairs. He threw his hand out and I ran into it, making me almost fall over. He drew his head back and looked at me. He pulled out a small handgun from his side and handed it to me. I'd never even known he had it.

“Do you know how to shoot a gun?” I nodded, turning it over in my hand.

“Law enforcement issue Glock, forty caliber. How big is the magazine?”

A brow arched at that and I guess he was surprised I knew guns.

“It's a 22 round. Where the hell did you learn about guns?”

“My dad before he passed, he was a conservation officer. He loved guns, collected them. Illegal clip size" I muttered as I checked the safety to make sure it was off. If he was handing me a gun then he meant for me to use it.

“Can you shoot?” I tilted my head and looked at him.

“Naw, I grew up with a father who loved guns but never taught me how to shoot them.” He glared at me then, he wasn't happy with my sarcasm, I rolled my eyes, “Yes I can shoot. I havent in years but if my life depends on it I'm sure I'll hit something.”

“As long as it's not me we're good.”

The bow in his hand looked complex and I could tell there was no way I'd ever be able to handle it. Guns are one thing, bow and arrows, totally different. At some point he'd slid on gloves. Funny how I didn't notice any of that, I guess thinking I was about to be shot at or worse kept me from noticing details. He turned to look out into the oarking garage, then back to me.

“You keep that gun at the ready. Things are giong to get hot fast. If they shoot, they're not going to shoot at you, they want you alive, but me they don't care about. You stay close, and you shoot at anything that moves. No one should be on this level except us. Anyone else is fair game.”

“What if they're not the bad guys?” My voice was a whisper and he turned to look at me.

“If they're on this level, they are most definitely bad guys.”

He pulled an arrow from the unit strapped to his back. I couldn't call it a quiver because I'd never seen one like that before. There were all kinds of things and devices around a cylindar. It looked dangerous enough for me to stand back a little.

“Gray van, minivan, got it?”

He turned to look at me and I nodded. This had to be the most emotional twenty-four hours I'd ever had and it seemed to only be getting worse.

There was no time to think about it as Clint took off across the parking lot, I was right behind him. He kept his bow at the ready and I held the gun just like my father had taught me, gun in right, cup the bottom of gun with your left hand. I could hear my father’s voice as we ran for the van in my head over and over, like a teacher from the past to remind me.

It wasn't until I'd reached the back of the van that I heard the engine of another car roar to life. Clint spun on his heel and I threw myself against the van to give him room. It happened so fast that it was instinct more than anything else. We both fired at the same time toward the oncoming car. I hit the windshield but whatever he used hit the front of the car and exploded. The sound left my ears ringing and barely able to hear him yelling at me. The car wasn't going to be going anywhere for awhile, hopfully ever. I jumped into the van through the drivers side and dove into the back.

“Stay down!” He didnt have to tell me twice about that. I situated myself between the two seats. I wasn't exactly sure why he chose a minivan of all things to use as our getaway car but who was I to question him?

The van jerked backwards and then we were moving, I could tell when we turned corners just because I rolled from one side to another. We hit a huge bump and I slammed my head into the seat next to me.

After muttering a string of curses I climbed between the front seats.

“I'm getting off the floor.”

“I thought I told you to stay down!”

“You're going to kill me down there! And you can't do anything if they start firing guns at us, you're driving.”

“Reynolds!”

“Shut up and drive Barton!” I yelled back at him around the same time I heard the first gunshot. I could see the car cut through traffic, swerving to avoid another car as it gained on us. I pulled the passenger seatbelt around me as I slipped the safety off the gun once more. I was looking in the outside mirror watching the car.

“They're right behind us.”

“If you're going to be up here, how about you use that gun I gave you instead of telling me what I already know?”

“I swear when we get out of this I'm gonna slap you!”

He was going to get a kick in the teeth if he didn't stop being such an ass. It wasn't like I'd ever been chased by people who wanted me for information I knew. I unhooked the seat belt and leaned out the window. Another bullet hit the back of the van as I grabbed the handle on the upper inside of the door. I held on with my left hand, brought my right arm across my body and used the side of the van to line up the shot. I was going for the wheels, if I could hit a tire, we could get them off our tail.

I fired twice, hitting pavement and the second time hitting the front of the car. I could see one of the men inside on a cell phone, pointing at me. I fired three more shots, finally hitting the tire. They swerved, hitting the concrete divider before veering over into the other lane.

“They're still behind us Reynolds.”

“I didn't notice!”

I think he might have been about to say something back when I saw the truck pull into the road in front of us and stop. I had a feeling that it wasn't a coincidence and I slid back into the van.

“Get that seat belt back on.”

There was an eerie calm to his voice that made me look over at him. It was like the more difficult our getaway had become, the more in his element he was. I grabbed the handle once more watching his eyes as he looked around us.

Without so much as a word, he turned into an alley, cutting off several cars. I squeezed my eyes closed as we hit the curb and raced down the alley. The car I'd shot was still behind us, but not gaining on us as they had. I glanced over at him before looking straight ahead once more. He gained speed as we went down the alleyway and then turned onto another street, then into another alley. I was beginning to think that maybe Clint had driven professionally in another life or maybe this kind of driving was a Shield requirement. I wasn't sure how he was keeping us from getting killed or overturning the van. He seemed to know just when to turn, or speed up to keep us from being slammed into by oncoming or crossing traffic. He sped through oncoming traffic, weaving in and out of cars, putting more and more distance between us and the car behind us.

Just a moment or two later we were merging onto the interstate, headed toward somewhere that wasn't the city.

No one was following that I could see. I relaxed, just a little and turned the gun over to flip the safety back on. I stuck the gun into the glove compartment in front of me. Breathing was my biggest concern and I concentrated on it, taking in deep breaths and letting them out as I counted in my head. My hands were shaking and I tucked them between my legs, willing them to stop.

Clint reached over to give my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“We're out of the city and I doubt they're going to find us at this point.” He glanced over at me but returned his attention to the road in front of us. I looked over at him for just a second and then down at the floor. My hair was hanging down around my face and I felt the urge to cry. It came out of nowhere and I lifted my hands to rub them over my face. I guessed that it had to be the adrenaline rush I'd just experienced and the let down from that but I couldn't be entirely sure. I drew in a shaking breath and let it go, looking out the window. I refused to cry in front of him, I was not going to be some whining pathetic damsel in distress.

“What the hell is in that cave that they could want so badly? What mineral or fossil or whatever could be so important?” I blurted out, “I don't care to be honest. Why can't I just tell them what they want to know and be done with it?”

“Well that little outburst was out of no where.”

“I don't care what they found. It doesn't do me a bit of good. I could care less what they want”

“Well I'd venture to say that a lot of bad things could be done with it, if we're babysitting you.”

“Why can't Tony just write down the location and you guys go do whatever it is that you do? Why am I even involved in all this? I don't want you babysitting me, I want things normal and the way they were”

He shot another glance my way but said nothing as he took a ramp off of the interstate, putting us on a state road. It seemed the farther we drove, the less populated the area looked. We'd pass through a city, then into what was almost farm land. I wasn't even sure what state we were even in anymore and to be honest, I didn't care.

I shifted my body so I could lean against the door, and I closed my eyes. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Roger was more than likely dead, that people were shooting and willing to kill to get ahold of me. All for what? A location of a mine? It didn't add up, none of it seemed worth the effort. Something else had to be going on.

I started to ask Clint if he had any idea of what was really going on but if he did, he’d never tell me. He was a company man I was betting, and whatever he was told to do, he did it. I wished I had asked Tony more questions about what was going on. He could lie, but I knew Tony, I could read him a bit better than Barton.

The van slowed and we turned into a driveway that stretched out over a long field and disappeared into the tree line. I was rather curious where this place as going to be when we we drove into the trees, then took another side road that led up a very steep hill. The road was narrow, I wasn't even sure I could call it a road before the trees opened up and I saw a log home.

It looked fairly new, with a deck that appeared to wrap around half the house and large windows that overlooked the tree line below . It wasn't large, but wasn't a cabin either. I would have never have guessed the place existed with the way it was situated in the trees.

Clint pulled up right next to the back doors and put the van into park. He looked over at me then shut off the ignition.

“Look, I know you're upset and angry about this situation. I understand it too, but let’s do our best to get along while we're here. “

I looked over at him and I knew the look I gave him wasn't friendly. I said nothing as I got out of the truck and slammed the door behind me. I didn't wait for him to show me where we were going, or let me into the house, I just started walking. The back of the house had a small yard behind it that dissolved into trees. It would have been a perfect place for a romantic hide away but this was nothing more than someplace to hide until they felt it was safe to get me back into civilization. I started across the yard, wth every intention of walking in the woods until I cooled off. I wasn't an idiot and I knew how to find my way around without getting lost.

“Alaina!”

I ignored him and kept walking. I had nothing to say to him, at all. I could hear him behind me and I just kept walking.

“Reynolds, Stop!” There was a harshness and demand in his voice that made me stop. I don't know why I felt like I should listen to him and that pissed me off even more. Turning to face him, I held none of that anger back

“How about you leave me alone Clint? I don't want to hear about how we need to make the best of this, or how this is for my own good. No one followed us. Give me ten minutes to just be alone! Without you or anyone else watching me.”

“I can't do that. I can't risk anything happening to you.”

“There is no one here, nothing here! I am going for a walk, go inside and do something instead of bother me.”

He stalked toward me and I stood my ground, I was not backing down from him, not anymore. I saw the look on his face and knew right then he'd carry me inside if he had to. It was then that I turned and bolted. I ran straight into the thicker part of the woods that I could, and I ran hard and fast. I don't know that I was running from him so much as I just needed to feel like I had some control over something in my life.

I pushed myself, leaping over fallen trees, swerving to avoid ivy vines or whatever kind of vines they were. I heard him behind me, but I wasn't about to turn around to see if he was behind me. I changed direction and ran toward what looked like a break in the trees, as I got closer I could see the creek that twisted through the trees. I really thought I was going to make it there but then his hand grabbed my wrist and it jerked me, making me fall hard onto the ground. During the fall I took him with me and I scrambled to get back to my feet but he didn't release the grip he had on my arm.

"God dammit Alaina stop!"

I jerked at my arm, using my feet as leverage in the leaf covered dirt. He twisted and was on his feet in a split second and I had to admit it was a good move. He grabbed my upper left arm and lifted me up off the ground to my feet. I then swung at him with my right, forcing him to block with his left but offset him enough to cause him to release his grip just a little, but not enough to get away. He growled at me and then he grabbed me at my waist and lifted me off the ground.

I kicked to try and throw him off balance.

"Put me down Clint, right now!"

"Fine!" and then I was in the air and underwater.

I came up coughing, soaking wet and even more pissed than I was before. I had no idea that the creek could even be deep enough for him to throw me into without killing me. I looked around, and found it was at least 5 feet, maybe more since I wasn't at the deepest point. I smoothed my hair back and looked at him.

"Are we finished with the temper tantrum?"

"Fuck you asshat!"

I could have cared less if he didn't like my "tantrum" as he called it. I trudged up to the shallow part of the creek, looking down at my totally soaked clothes which were ill fitting to begin with, now I had to hold onto them to keep the pants around me.

"You wish sweetcheeks, now get your ass up the bank so we can get to the house." He offered me his hand at that point and I knew unless I wanted to crawl I was going to need his help. I reached up and he grasped my arm, tugging me as I used my feet to catch the bank several times until I was on solid ground.

Neither of us said anything as we walked back toward the house and while we walked it dawned on me just how far I'd made him chase me. It made me smile a little, knowing he had to chase me down. The sound of distant thunder caught my attention and I raised my head, turning to look the direction of the sound. He turned to look as well.

"Thought we might be getting rain." His voice was quiet, and it seemed like he was trying to offer an olive branch of sorts. I looked up and could see the trees moving with the increased wind. I could even smell the scent of rain over my own wet clothes.

"I hadn't really noticed before, I guess it has been cloudy." It was all I had to offer. Glancing over at him, he was looking at me as well.

"What was all that about?"

I shrugged and folded my arms over my chest.

"I want my life back and I know that's not going to happen. Nothing is ever going to be the same, and there is nothing I can do."

"Maybe, but you also have the chance to make a change, do something different."

I snorted as we came out of the tree line.

"Or this is the beginning of another bad decision in a long list of them."

"At least you'll be alive to bitch about it" he muttered as he began to walk faster, getting quite a bit ahead of me. He reached up and pushed against a small plank in the side of the house and a door opened where he grabbed the key. I wasn't close enough to see where he pushed but I had to admit it was high tech and very secret agent-ish. Once the door was open he waited for me to go in first. He closed the door once I was inside and locked it behind him. I stood inside the utility room, clothes still dripping and watched Barton walk right past me, into the cabin and disappear.

This trip was going to be just freaking lovely.

 


End file.
